Methods of forming nonvolatile memories with L-shaped floating gates

ABSTRACT

In a nonvolatile memory using floating gates to store charge, individual floating gates are L-shaped. Orientations of L-shaped floating gates may alternate in the bit line direction and may also alternate in the word line direction. L-shaped floating gates are formed by etching conductive portions using etch masks of different patterns to obtain floating gates of different orientations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/465,025, filed Aug. 16, 2006, entitled, “NONVOLATILE MEMORIES WITHSHAPED FLOATING GATES”; which application is incorporated in itsentirety by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to nonvolatile memories and methods offorming nonvolatile memories. In particular, this application relates toshaping of floating gates and different arrangements of shaped floatinggates in nonvolatile memories.

There are many commercially successful non-volatile memory productsbeing used today, particularly in the form of small form factor cards,which use an array of flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable andProgrammable Read Only Memory) cells. In one type of architecture, aNAND array, a series of strings of more than two memory cells, such as16 or 32, are connected to one another such that the source of one isalso the drain of the other in order to form columns of cells.Typically, each NAND string, consisting of, for example, 32 floatinggate memory cells in series is terminated by two select transistors, oneat each end of the string. The drain side select transistor's sourcediffusion is the same as drain of the last cell on the string. The drainof the drain side select transistor is connected to a global bit line.Global bit lines extend in a perpendicular orientation with respect tothe word lines. Each NAND string resides under a particular bit linethat provides access to it. A global bit line may span many thousands ofNAND strings. The source side diffusion of the first floating gatetransistor in the NAND string is the same as the drain of the sourceside select transistor. The source of the source side select transistoris typically connected to a shared line that runs parallel to the wordlines. Word lines extend across cells spanning a large number of thesecolumns. An individual cell within a column is read and verified duringprogramming by causing the remaining cells in the string to be overdriven so that the current flowing through a string is dependent uponthe level of charge stored in the addressed cell. An example of a NANDarchitecture array and its operation as part of a memory system is foundin U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,935.

In another type of array having a “split-channel” between source anddrain diffusions, the floating gate of the cell is positioned over oneportion of the channel and the word line (also referred to as a controlgate) is positioned over the other channel portion as well as over thefloating gate. This effectively forms a cell with two transistors inseries, one (the memory transistor) with a combination of the amount ofcharge on the floating gate and the voltage on the word line controllingthe amount of current that can flow through its portion of the channel,and the other (the select transistor) having the word line alone servingas its gate. The word line extends over a row of floating gates.Examples of such cells, their uses in memory systems and methods ofmanufacturing them are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,032, 5,095,344,5,315,541, 5,343,063, 5,661,053, and 6,281,075.

A modification of this split-channel flash EEPROM cell adds a steeringgate positioned between the floating gate and the word line. Eachsteering gate of an array extends over one column of floating gates,perpendicular to the word line. The effect is to relieve the word linefrom having to perform two functions at the same time when reading orprogramming a selected cell. Those two functions are (1) to serve as agate of a select transistor, thus requiring a proper voltage to turn theselect transistor on and off, and (2) to drive the voltage of thefloating gate to a desired level through an electric field (capacitive)coupling between the word line and the floating gate. It is oftendifficult to perform both of these functions in an optimum manner with asingle voltage. With the addition of the steering gate, the word lineneed only perform function (1), while the added steering gate performsfunction (2). The use of steering gates in a flash EEPROM array isdescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,421 and 6,222,762.

In any of the types of memory cell arrays described above, the floatinggate of a cell is programmed by injecting electrons from the substrateto the floating gate. This is accomplished by having the proper dopingin the channel region and applying the proper voltages to the source,drain and remaining gate(s).

Two techniques for removing charge from floating gates to erase memorycells are used in the three types of memory cell arrays described above.One is to erase to the substrate by applying appropriate voltages to thesource, drain and other gate(s) that cause electrons to tunnel through aportion of a dielectric layer between the floating gate and thesubstrate. The other erase technique is to transfer electrons from thefloating gate to another gate through a tunnel dielectric layerpositioned between them. In the second type of cell described above, athird erase gate is provided for that purpose. In the third type of celldescribed above, which already has three gates because of the use of asteering gate, the floating gate is erased to the word line, without thenecessity to add a fourth gate. Although this latter technique adds backa second function to be performed by the word line, these functions areperformed at different times, thus avoiding the necessity of making acompromise because of the two functions. When either erase technique isutilized, a large number of memory cells are grouped together forsimultaneous erasure, in a “flash.” In one approach, the group includesenough memory cells to store the amount of user data stored in a disksector, namely 512 bytes, plus some overhead data. In another approach,each group contains enough cells to hold several thousand bytes of userdata, equal to many disk sectors' worth of data. Multi-block erasure,defect management and other flash EEPROM system features are describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,148.

As in most all integrated circuit applications, the pressure to shrinkthe silicon substrate area required to implement some integrated circuitfunction also exists with flash EEPROM systems. It is continuallydesired to increase the amount of digital data that can be stored in agiven area of a silicon substrate, in order to increase the storagecapacity of a given size memory card and other types of packages, or toboth increase capacity and decrease size. One way to increase thestorage density of data is to store more than one bit of data per memorycell. This is accomplished by dividing a window of a floating gatecharge level voltage range into more than two states. The use of foursuch states allows each cell to store two bits of data, eight statesstores three bits of data per cell, and so on. A multiple state flashEEPROM structure and operation is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,940and 5,172,338.

Increased data density can also be achieved by reducing the physicalsize of the memory cells and/or the overall array. Shrinking the size ofintegrated circuits is commonly performed for all types of circuits asprocessing techniques improve over time to permit implementing smallerfeature sizes. But there are usually limits of how far a given circuitlayout can be shrunk in this manner, since there is often at least onefeature that is limited as to how much it can be shrunk, thus limitingthe amount that the overall layout can be shrunk. When this happens,designers will turn to a new or different layout or architecture of thecircuit being implemented in order to reduce the amount of silicon arearequired to perform its functions. The shrinking of the above-describedflash EEPROM integrated circuit systems can reach similar limits.

Another flash EEPROM architecture utilizes a dual floating gate memorycell along with the storage of multiple states on each floating gate. Inthis type of cell, two floating gates are included over its channelbetween source and drain diffusions with a select transistor in betweenthem. A steering gate is included along each column of floating gatesand a word line is provided thereover along each row of floating gates.When accessing a given floating gate for reading or programming, thesteering gate over the other floating gate of the cell containing thefloating gate of interest is raised sufficiently high to turn on thechannel under the other floating gate no matter what charge level existson it. This effectively eliminates the other floating gate as a factorin reading or programming the floating gate of interest in the samememory cell. For example, the amount of current flowing through thecell, which can be used to read its state, is then a function of theamount of charge on the floating gate of interest but not of the otherfloating gate in the same cell. Examples of this cell array architectureand operating techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,712,180,6,103,573 and 6,151,248.

In these and other types of non-volatile memories, the amount of fieldcoupling between the floating gates and the control gates passing overthem is carefully controlled. The amount of coupling determines thepercentage of a voltage placed on the control gate that is coupled toits floating gates. The percentage coupling is determined by a number offactors including the amount of surface area of the floating gate thatoverlaps a surface of the control gate. It is often desired to maximizethe percentage coupling between the floating and control gates bymaximizing the amount of overlapping area. One approach to increasingcoupling area is described by Yuan et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,063. Theapproach described in that patent is to make the floating gates thickerthan usual to provide large vertical surfaces that may be coupled withthe control gates. Another approach that increases area coupling afloating gate and a control gate is described by Yuan in U.S. Pat. No.6,908,817.

When increasing the vertical coupling areas between adjacent floatingand control gates, it is further desirable to do so in a manner thatdoes not increase the area of the substrate that is occupied by eachcell. Also, it is preferable to reduce the floating gate to floatinggate coupling, so that adjacent floating gates do not greatly affecteach other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A floating gate that is L-shaped in cross section along the word linedirection presents an L-shaped facet to an adjacent floating gate in thebit line direction. In other words, two neighboring floating gates thatreside on two neighboring word lines will present L-shaped facets to oneanother. The L-shaped facet may have less area than a conventionalrectangular floating gate, while maintaining the same (or better)coupling between the floating gate and the overlying word line. Inaddition, the parasitic coupling between two neighboring floating gatesthat reside on two neighboring word lines may be reduced further thanthe facet area reduction alone would indicate. This further reduction isprovided by the fact that an L-shaped floating gate may substantiallyreduce the distance of the furthest points on the L-shaped facets fromtheir own control gate, allowing these distances to become smaller thanthe floating gate to floating gate distance, and thereby reducing thefloating gate to floating gate capacitance beyond the reduction providedby facet area reduction. More field lines emanating from the L-shapefacet can now turn and terminate on their own control gate rather thanextending across and terminating on the adjacent floating gate thatresides below a neighboring word line. All the floating gates along aNAND string of floating gate memory cells may have the same orientationin one embodiment. In another embodiment, floating gates along a stringare L-shaped with alternating orientations. Floating gates alternatebetween having an L-orientation and a reverse-L-orientation. Oneadvantage of such alternating orientations is that opposing facets ofadjacent floating gates in the bit line direction have reducedcapacitive coupling. In another embodiment, orientations of L-shapedfloating gates alternate along the word line direction. This may be inaddition to alternating along the bit line direction. In addition toL-shaped floating gates, other asymmetrical shapes of floating gates maybe formed and arranged to have alternating orientations.

In a process for forming a memory array with L-shaped floating gates, agate dielectric layer is formed over a surface of a substrate and afirst conductive layer is formed over the gate dielectric layer. Amasking layer is formed over the first conductive layer and a resistlayer is formed over the masking layer. The resist layer is patternedand the pattern transferred to the masking layer, forming maskingportions. These masking portions are then used to form STI structuresextending in the y-direction. STI structures divide the first conductivelayer into first conductive portions. Masking portions are then replacedby second conductive portions. The first and second conductive portionsare in contact and form electrically continuous conductive portions thatextend in the y-direction. These conductive portions may be formed intoL-shaped floating gates by partially etching them using a patterned etchmask. Different etch masks may be used depending on the desiredorientations of L-shaped floating gates. Partial etching causes areas ofconductive portions to be partially etched in a vertical direction.Etched areas extend along a sidewall of an STI structure, leaving anarrowed conductive portion that extends along a sidewall of an adjacentSTI structure. Subsequently, the etch mask is removed and STI structuresare etched back. Then a dielectric layer or a combination of dielectriclayers is deposited and a conductive layer is deposited over thedielectric layer(s). Separate word lines are formed from the conductivelayer and conductive portions are separated into separate floating gatesin the same etch step so that these features are self-aligned.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a memory system that includes a memory array according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the memory array of FIG. 1 includingNAND strings of floating gate memory cells.

FIG. 3A shows a detailed view of a floating gate of a memory cell ofFIG. 2, the floating gate being L-shaped in cross section.

FIG. 3B shows a facet of the floating gate of FIG. 3A includingcomparison with a rectangular shaped floating gate.

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the memory array of FIG. 2 at anearlier stage of fabrication, including a gate dielectric layer, firstconductive layer and masking layer with a patterned resist layeroverlying the masking layer.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of FIG. 4, in the same view, aftertransferring the pattern of the resist layer to the masking layer andthen using the masking layer to establish locations of STI structures.

FIG. 6A shows the structure of FIG. 5 after replacing masking layerportions with a second conductive layer and planarizing.

FIG. 6B shows an alternative structure to that of FIG. 6A where maskinglayer portions are replaced using a thin second conductive layerfollowed by a dielectric layer and then planarization.

FIG. 7A shows the structure of FIG. 6A after formation of a resistpattern overlying conductive portions and STI structures and using theresist pattern to partially etch conductive portions.

FIG. 7B shows an individual conductive portion of the alternativeembodiment of FIG. 6B after partially etching with an etch maskpartially overlying the conductive portion.

FIG. 8A shows the structure of FIG. 7A after removal of resist portionsand etching back of STI structures to a level close to the substratesurface.

FIG. 8B shows the individual conductive portion of FIG. 7B after removalof dielectric, leaving a narrow upper portion.

FIG. 9 shows the structure of FIG. 8A after deposition of a dielectriclayer and a conductive layer overlying the dielectric layer.

FIG. 10 shows L-shaped floating gates of a memory array according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows L-shaped floating gates of another embodiment of thepresent invention, floating gates of a string having alternatingorientations, floating gates of a row having the same orientation.

FIG. 12A shows an etch mask that may be used to form the floating gatesof FIG. 11 from conductive portions.

FIG. 12B shows conductive portions patterned by the etch mask of FIG.12A and the locations of word lines formed over the patterned conductiveportions.

FIG. 13A shows an alternative etch mask that may be used to form thefloating gates of FIG. 11 from conductive portions.

FIG. 13B shows conductive portions patterned by the etch mask of FIG.13A and the locations of word lines formed over the patterned conductiveportions.

FIG. 14 shows L-shaped floating gates of another embodiment of thepresent invention, the floating gates having alternating orientationsalong the bit line direction and the floating gates having alternatingorientations along the word line direction also.

FIG. 15A shows an etch mask that may be used to form the floating gatesof FIG. 14 from conductive portions.

FIG. 15B shows conductive portions patterned by the etch mask of FIG.15A and the locations of word lines formed over the patterned conductiveportions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Memory Structure

An example of a memory system 100 incorporating various aspects of thepresent invention is generally illustrated in the block diagram ofFIG. 1. A large number of individually addressable memory cells arearranged in a regular array 110 of rows and columns, although otherphysical arrangements of cells are certainly possible. Bit lines,designated herein to extend along columns of the array 110 of cells, areelectrically connected with a bit line decoder and driver circuit 130through lines 150. Word lines, which are designated in this descriptionto extend along rows of the array 110 of cells, are electricallyconnected through lines 170 to a word line decoder and driver circuit190. Each of the decoders 130 and 190 receives memory cell addressesover a bus 160 from a memory controller 180. The decoder and drivingcircuits are also connected to the controller 180 over respectivecontrol and status signal lines 135 and 195.

The controller 180 is connectable through lines 140 to a host device(not shown). The host may be a personal computer, notebook computer,digital camera, audio player, various other hand held electronicdevices, and the like. The memory system 100 of FIG. 1 will commonly beimplemented as a removable memory, such as a card, according to one ofseveral existing physical and electrical standards, such as one from thePCMCIA, the CompactFlash™ Association, the MMC™ Association, and others.When in a card format, the lines 140 terminate in a connector on thecard that interfaces with a complementary connector of the host device.The electrical interface of many cards follows the ATA standard, whereinthe memory system appears to the host as if it was a magnetic diskdrive. Other memory card interface standards also exist. As analternative to the card format, a memory system of the type shown inFIG. 1 may be permanently embedded in the host device.

The decoder and driver circuits 130 and 190 generate appropriatevoltages in their respective lines of the array 110, as addressed overthe bus 160, according to control signals in respective control andstatus lines 135 and 195, to execute programming, reading and erasingfunctions. Any status signals, including voltage levels and other arrayparameters, are provided by the array 110 to the controller 180 over thesame control and status lines 135 and 195. A plurality of senseamplifiers within the circuit 130 receive current or voltage levels thatare indicative of the states of addressed memory cells within the array110, and provides the controller 180 with information about those statesover lines 145 during a read operation. A large number of senseamplifiers are usually used in order to be able to read the states of alarge number of memory cells in parallel. During reading and programoperations, one row of cells is typically addressed at a time throughthe circuits 190 for accessing a number of cells in the addressed rowthat are selected by the circuit 130. During an erase operation, allcells in each of many rows are typically addressed together as a blockfor simultaneous erasure.

A plan view of an example of a NAND memory cell array 110 formed on asilicon substrate is shown in FIG. 2, wherein a small part of itsrepetitive structure of conductive elements is illustrated with littledetail of dielectric layers that exist between the elements, for clarityof explanation. Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) structures 210 a-d areformed extending through the surface of the substrate. In order toprovide a convention for this description, the STI structures are shownto be spaced apart in a first direction (x-direction), with lengthsextending in a second direction (y-direction), these first and seconddirections being essentially orthogonal with each other.

Between the STI structures 210 a-d, there are strings 220 a-c of memorycells running in the y-direction. Thus, the direction of the strings isparallel to the direction of the STI structures. Each string 220 a-cincludes many memory devices connected in series. FIG. 2 shows portionsof three such strings 220 a-c with three memory cells shown for eachstring. However, strings 220 a-c contain additional cells that are notshown in FIG. 2. Also, the array 110 contains additional strings thatare not represented in FIG. 2. This type of array may have thousands ofstrings with 16, 32 or more cells in each string.

An exemplary memory cell 224 includes a floating gate 230 and conductivesource/drain regions 240 a-b in the substrate adjacent to floating gate230, on either side in the y-direction. STI structures 210 b, 210 c formisolating elements that electrically isolate source/drain regions 240 a,240 b from source/drain and channel regions of cells in adjacent strings220 a, 220 c. Along the y-direction source/drain regions 240 a, 240 bare shared by adjacent cells. Source/drain regions, includingsource/drain regions 240 a, 240 b, electrically connect one cell to thenext cell thus forming a string 220 b. The source/drain regions 240 a,240 b in this example are formed by implanting impurities into thesubstrate in the required areas.

FIG. 3A shows an individual floating gate 230 of memory cell array 110so that its three dimensional shape can be clearly seen. The z-axis ofFIG. 3A extends perpendicularly from the substrate surface and is thusperpendicular to the view of FIG. 2. It can be seen that floating gate230 is L-shaped in cross section along the x-direction. Floating gate230 is formed having a base 301 that has a square footprint, with thedimension of a side of the square being equal to the minimum featuresize (F) of the lithographic process used. In other examples, thesedimensions may be different. Extending from base 301 is a projection 303that extends from one side of base 301 to give floating gate 230 anL-shape. As a result of being L-shaped, floating gate 230 presentsL-shaped facets to adjacent floating gates in the bit line direction.

FIG. 3B shows the dimensions of a facet of floating gate 230 of FIG. 3A.FIG. 3B also shows the shape of a facet of a rectangular floating gatein outline. It can be seen that the area of the L-shaped facet is lessthan the area of a rectangular facet having the same height (Z1) andwidth (F). However, there is no reduction in the perimeter of the facet,so that coupling between floating gate 230 and an overlying control gateis approximately the same as for a rectangular floating gate (couplingarea is the perimeter of the floating gate where the control gateoverlies it multiplied by the y-dimension). In the example of FIG. 3B,the dimension F-X1 is approximately equal to X1 so that projection 303is approximately half the width of base portion 301. However, this isnot always so. The coupling between a floating gate and a control gatedoes not depend on having a particular value of X1 so that somevariation in this value is acceptable.

Process Flow

FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the nonvolatile memory array ofFIG. 2, along the x-direction, at an earlier stage of fabrication. Thecross section of FIG. 4 is indicated by I-I in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows agate dielectric layer 405 extending over substrate 407 and a firstconductive layer 409 extending over gate dielectric layer 405.Typically, gate dielectric layer 405 is formed of Silicon Dioxide thatis grown by oxidation of the Silicon surface of substrate 407.Subsequently, first conductive layer 409 may be formed of polysilicon byChemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) or otherwise. A masking layer 411 ofdielectric (Silicon Nitride in this example) extends over firstconductive layer 409. In another embodiment the masking layer can becomposed of one or more conductive materials such as doped polysilicon.Gate dielectric 405, first conductive layer 409 and masking layer 411may all be formed as blanket layers that extend over the entiresubstrate 407. Resist portions 413 a-c overlie masking layer 411. Resistportions 413 a-c are formed according to a pattern that islithographically established. In this case, resist portions 413 a-c havea dimension in the x-direction that is equal to the minimum feature size(F) of the lithographic process used to form them. Resist portions 413a-c are also spaced apart in the x-direction a distance equal to F. Inother examples, resist portions may have an x-dimension that is greaterthan F, or using resist slimming or other techniques, may have anx-dimension that is less than F. Resist portions 413 a-c extend in they-direction (perpendicular to the view of FIG. 4). The patternestablished by resist portions 413 a-c is used to pattern masking layer411 into masking portions, which in turn are used as an etch mask toform STI structures.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of FIG. 4, in the same view, after formationof the masking portions 411 a-c from masking layer 411 and formation ofSTI structures 515 a-d. Masking portions 411 a-c are formed by etchingmasking layer 411 with resist portions 413 a-c in place so that thepattern of resist portions 413 a-c is transferred to masking layer 411.Then, masking portions 411 a-c are used as a mask for subsequent etchingof the first conductive layer 409, gate dielectric layer 405 andunderlying substrate 407 to form STI trenches. In etching through thefirst conductive layer 409, first conductive layer 409 is divided upinto first conductive portions 409 a-c that extend as strips in they-direction. Gate dielectric layer 405 is similarly divided intodielectric portions 405 a-c. Because first conductive portions 409 a-care formed by the same step that forms STI trenches, these features areself-aligned. STI trenches are filled with dielectric or dielectrics(deposited Silicon Dioxide in this example) to form STI structures 515a-d. At least one dielectric material may be deposited so that it fillsSTI trenches and covers masking portions 411 a-c and may then beplanarized, for example, by utilizing chemical/mechanical polishing sothat any dielectric material overlying masking portions 411 a-c isremoved.

Subsequently, masking portions 411 a-c are removed and second conductiveportions 617 a-c are formed in their place. Second conductive portions617 a-c may be formed of polysilicon. Polysilicon may be deposited as ablanket layer and then planarized so that any polysilicon overlying STIstructures 515 a-d is removed. A first conductive potion 409 a and asecond conductive portion 617 a may be considered to form a singleconductive portion 618 a. Conductive portions 618 b and 618 c aresimilarly formed from first and second portions. In a first embodiment,shown in FIG. 6A, the entire volume previously occupied by a maskingportion is filled with polysilicon. Alternatively, if masking portions411 a-c are conductive, this replacement step is unnecessary as maskingportions 411 a-c form second conductive portions.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 6B, a polysilicon layer isdeposited that does not fill the entire volume previously occupied by amasking portion. An additional dielectric layer is added over thepolysilicon layer and then planarization is performed. In this way, thethickness X2 of second conductive portions 619 a-c may be made smallerand thickness X2 may be carefully controlled. Second conductive portions619 a-c directly overlie first conductive portions 409 a-c and are inelectrical contact with first conductive portions 409 a-c. Therefore, asecond conductive portion 619 a and the first conductive portion 409 aover which it lies may be considered as a single conductive portion 621a. Conductive portions 621 b and 621 c are similarly formed of first andsecond portions. In either embodiment, after planarization, maskingportions are formed over the planarized surface of second conductiveportions and STI structures.

FIG. 7A shows the structure of FIG. 6A with masking portions 723 a-cextending over STI structures 515 a-d and over conductive portions 618a-c. A masking layer may be formed of resist that is deposited as ablanket layer and subsequently patterned to form masking portions 723a-c. In a first embodiment, the resist layer is simply patterned into aseries of elongated portions that extend in the y-direction and thathave a width of F (other patterns will be discussed later). Maskingportions 723 a-c are located so that an individual resist portion 723 apartially overlies an STI structure 515 a and partially overlies aconductive portion 618 a. This may require alignment of the pattern usedto form resist portions 723 a-c and the pattern of STI structures 515a-d and conductive portions 618 a-c. Resist portions 723 a-c are used asan etch mask to etch conductive portions 618 a-c as shown. Anisotropicetching is used to etch in a vertical direction and the etch chemistryis selective to polysilicon so that STI structures 515 a-d are notsubstantially etched. Etching may stop at the interface between firstconductive portions 409 a-c and second conductive portions 617 a-c or atsome other level. Etching may extend into first conductive portions 409a-c, or may stop at some level above first conductive portions 409 a-c.An additional wet etch may be performed after the anisotropic etch. Theoptional wet etch may serve to further narrow the vertical and thehorizontal dimensions of the L-shaped conductive portions 618 a-c.Subsequently, an optional step consisting of a partial or a completefill may be performed to fill volumes created by etching with dielectricmaterial. The filling material can then be planarized to remove excessfilling material that extends above the conductive portions.Alternatively, the dielectric filling and subsequent planarization maynot be necessary. Then an etchback of dielectric material including STIstructures 515 a-d is performed. This etchback is selective todielectric over polysilicon and may be an anisotropic dry etch. In somecases this selectivity makes the filling with dielectric fillingmaterial and subsequent planarization unnecessary.

FIG. 7B shows a conductive portion 621 a according to the alternativeembodiment of FIG. 6B after etching using resist portions as describedabove. As is shown, some dielectric material 725 remains after etching.The width of the second conductive portion 619 a and remainingdielectric material 725 is X1. The value of X1 is determined by thelocation and extend of a resist portion of the etch mask used to shapethe conductive portion and thus depends on alignment of the pattern usedto form the resist portion.

FIG. 8A shows the structure of FIG. 7A after an etchback process. Theetchback process removes STI structures 515 a-d down to a level that ishigher than the top of the gate dielectric layer portions 405 a-c inthis example, though the structure may be etched back to other levelsalso. The etchback process leaves sides of conductive portions 618 a-cexposed. Conductive portions 618 a-c extend in the y-direction at thispoint, with an L-shape in cross section along the x-direction as shown.Subsequently, a dielectric layer or layers and a control gate layer orlayers are formed over the structure of FIG. 8A.

Where conductive portions are formed as shown in FIG. 7B, any remainingdielectric material 725 that was deposited over conductive portion 621 amay be removed by the etchback step as shown in FIG. 8B. This leaves anL-shaped conductive portion 621 a with a vertical projection 829 havinga thickness X2 in the x-direction that is equal to the thickness of thedeposited second conductive portion 619 a. This is less than thethickness X1 determined by patterning with an etch mask. In contrast tothe example of FIG. 8A, this thickness, X2, is not determined byalignment and may be more tightly controlled than a dimension determinedby alignment.

FIG. 9 shows the results of deposition of a dielectric layer 931 (interpoly dielectric) and control gate layer 933 over conductive portions ofeither FIG. 8A or 8B. Dielectric layer 931 may be a single layer (suchas a layer of Silicon Dioxide) or may be a compound layer (such as anOxide-Nitride-Oxide, or ONO layer). Control gate layer 933 is made of aconductive material, for example doped polysilicon, some metal, orcombination of metals. In some cases a combination of doped polysiliconand a metal silicide is used (for example, cobalt silicide, nickelsilicide, or tungsten silicide). Alternatively, a control gate layer canbe composed of polysilicon followed by tungsten nitride acting as abarrier layer, and then tungsten. After dielectric layer 931 and controlgate layer 933 are formed as blanket layers, the resulting structure ispatterned to form word lines and to separate conductive portions intoseparate floating gates. Word lines extend in the x-direction andtypically have a width that is close to F and are spaced apart by adistance close to F, with a pitch remaining equal to 2 F. Because wordlines are formed by the same step that forms separate floating gates,word lines are self-aligned to floating gates. A word line forms acontrol gate where it overlies a floating gate of a memory cell. Memorycells that share a word line may be considered to form a row of memorycells.

FIG. 10 illustrates floating gates of three adjacent rows 1035 a-caccording to the first embodiment. As is shown, L-shaped facets of afloating gate 1037 b face similar L-shaped facets of floating gates 1037a, 1037 c of the adjacent rows. Dielectric may be deposited between rows1035 a-c. Thus, the opposing facets act as plates of a parallel platecapacitor. However, their areas are reduced compared with a floatinggate having a rectangular facet of similar dimensions, so that couplingbetween neighboring floating gates along the y-direction is reduced.

Counter-Facing L-Shaped Floating Gates

FIG. 11 shows an arrangement of floating gates of three adjacent rows1141 a-c according to another embodiment of the present invention. Allfloating gates are L-shaped as before. However, floating gates of onerow have one orientation and floating gates of an adjacent row have anopposite orientation. Floating gates of row 1141 b can be considered tohave an L orientation, while floating gates of adjacent rows 1141 a,1141 c can be considered to have a reverse-L orientation. Thisarrangement reduces coupling between the upper portions of floatinggates of different rows. Opposing floating gates of adjacent rows haveopposite orientations so that upper portions are not directly opposingeach other. For example, upper portions 1143 a and 1143 b do notdirectly oppose each other. This reduces capacitive coupling betweenthese parts of the floating gates. In this arrangement, the orientationof floating gates alternates from one row to the next with all thefloating gates of a particular row having the same orientation. Thus,for example even numbered rows may have floating gates with a firstorientation and odd numbered rows may have floating gates with theopposite orientation. Such an arrangement is not limited to floatinggates that are L-shaped, but may be applied to floating gates having anyasymmetric shape in cross section along the x-direction. For example,floating gates may have a triangular shape in cross section along thex-direction. Floating gates with the arrangement shown in FIG. 11 may beformed in a similar manner to those of FIG. 10 described above, but withsome differences in the pattern used for etching conductive portions toform L-shaped cross sectional profiles.

FIG. 12A shows a first checkerboard pattern that may be used to etchconductive portions. FIG. 12A also shows how this pattern is aligned tothe underlying structure. The pattern may be formed of resist andincludes resist portions similar to resist portions 723 a-c shown incross section in FIG. 7A. This checkerboard pattern has rectangularportions that touch at their corners. An individual rectangular portion1245 has dimensions of F×2 F. The checkerboard pattern is offset fromthe pattern of conductive portions 1247 a-c and STI structures 1249 a-cso that individual rectangular portion 1245 of the checkerboard patternpartially overlies a conductive portion 1247 c and partially overlies anSTI structure 1249 c. This checkerboard pattern protects areas ofconductive portions 1247 a-c and leaves other areas of the conductiveportions 1247 a-c exposed. An etch is performed with the resist patternin place so that exposed areas of conductive portions 1247 a-c arepartially etched (but not etched through). Protected areas of conductiveportions 1247 a-c are not substantially etched.

FIG. 12B shows a view of conductive portions 1247 a-c and STI structures1249 a-c after patterning according to the pattern of FIG. 12A. Areasthat were protected by resist are shaded in this view. Unprotected areasare etched and have a reduced thickness (z-axis dimension) compared withunetched areas of the conductive portions. A dielectric layer andconductive layer (not shown in FIG. 12B) are formed extending over theconductive portions 1247 a-c and STI structures 1249 a-c. A stackincluding conductive portions, dielectric layer and conductive layer arethen patterned and etched to form word lines and to form separatefloating gates that are self aligned with the word lines over them. FIG.12B shows the outline of word lines 1251 a-c. The areas between wordlines 1251 a-c are etched so that the conductive layer is divided intoseparate word lines. In the same etch, conductive portions 1247 a-c areetched through, at least down to the underlying gate dielectric, so thatseparate floating gates are formed under word lines 1251 a-c.

FIG. 13A shows an alternative pattern that may also be used to formfloating gates with the arrangement shown in FIG. 11. A resist portion1353 of the pattern of FIG. 13A has a dimension in the x-direction of Fand a dimension in the y-direction that is greater than 2 F. Here thedimension in the y-direction is 2 F+D, where D is small in comparisonwith F. Spaces between resist portions have a dimension in they-direction that is 2 F−D. Thus, instead of just touching at corners,resist portions contact each other along portions of their sides. Thisprovides continuous areas of conductive portions 1355 a-c that arecovered by resist. After etching of conductive portions 1355 a-c using apattern according to either FIG. 12A or 13A, resist portions areremoved, STI structures 1357 a-c are etched back and dielectric andconductive layers are deposited over the substrate as before.

FIG. 13B shows a view of conductive portions 1355 a-c and STI structures1357 a-c that are patterned according to the pattern of 13A. Theunetched parts of conductive portion 1355 a of FIG. 13B form aserpentine pattern along conductive portion 1355 a. The continuousunetched parts form mechanically stronger structures than those that arediscontinuous or have little contact (like those of FIG. 12B). Suchstructures may better withstand potentially damaging forces that occurduring processes such as Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP). FIG. 13Bshows the outlines of word lines 1359 a-c. While the patterns of FIGS.12B and 13B have some differences, these differences are located betweenword lines 1359 a-c. So, after etching to form separate word lines 1359a-c and floating gates, these differing features are removed and theresulting structures are the same for both patterns.

Counter-Facing Floating Gates Along Row

FIG. 14 shows another alternative arrangement of floating gatesaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. As before,floating gates are L-shaped in cross section along the x-direction. Afloating gate of one row 1461 b has the opposite orientation to opposingfloating gates of adjacent rows 1461 a, 1461 c. However, unlike earlierexamples, here floating gates alternate in their orientation along a rowsuch as row 1461 b. Thus, alternate floating gates along a row have afirst orientation (L-orientation) while remaining alternate floatinggates along the row have a second orientation (reverse-L orientation).

FIG. 15A shows a pattern that may be used to form floating gates havingthe arrangement of FIG. 14. Processing up to the stage shown by FIG. 15Amay be carried out as shown in FIGS. 4-6. FIG. 15A shows a checkerboardpattern used as an etch mask for partial etching of conductive portions1563 a-c. The pattern includes squares, such as square 1565 a, that havesides of length 2 F. The pattern is aligned with underlying conductiveportions 1563 a-c and STI structures 1567 a-d so that there is an offsetbetween squares and STI structures 1567 a-d. Square 1565 b overlies anSTI structure 1567 b and extends approximately half way over conductiveportions 1563 a, 1563 b on either side. Thus, square 1565 b extendsapproximately F/2 over conductive portions 1563 a, 1563 b on eitherside. An alternative pattern to that of FIG. 15A has resist portionextending more than 2 F in the y-direction so that squares make contactalong their sides. As discussed earlier, such a pattern may result instructures that are physically stronger than those formed by patternsthat have squares only contacting at corners.

FIG. 15B shows the result of etching with the pattern of FIG. 15A inplace. Unshaded areas of conductive portions 1563 a-d are etched to havea vertical thickness that is less than that of the remainder ofconductive portions 1563 a-d. As in the example above, word lines 1565a-c are shown in outline. Here, it can be seen that floating gates alonga word line alternate in orientation (etched areas are on alternatingsides of a conductive portion). As before, a dielectric layer andconductive layer are deposited over the STI structures and conductiveportions. Then, a word line mask is aligned so that word lines 1565 a-cextend as shown, with corners of the pattern occurring between wordlines 1565 a-c. The conductive layer is separated into separate wordlines and conductive portions 1563 a-d are separated into separatefloating gate together.

While the example shown in FIG. 14 shows floating gates havingalternating orientation along both rows (X-direction) and columns(Y-direction), this is not always the case. In other examples, floatinggates may have alternating orientations along a row but not along acolumn. Thus, all the floating gates in a particular column may have thesame orientation, but floating gates of neighboring columns have adifferent orientation. Such floating gates may be formed using a resistpattern that consists of strips running in the column direction topartially overlie conductive portions on either side of an STIstructure.

Although the various aspects of the present invention have beendescribed with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood that the present invention is entitled to protection withinthe full scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of forming a NAND flash memory comprising: forming aplurality of memory cells electrically connected together in seriessource/drain regions along a first direction, each of the plurality ofmemory cells having a floating gate; shaping ones of the floating gatesof the plurality of memory cells to be L-shaped in cross section in aplane perpendicular to the first direction.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein first alternate ones of the floating gates have a firstorientation, second alternate ones of the floating gates have a secondorientation that is opposite to the first orientation.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the first alternate ones of the floating gates have anL-shape in cross section along a second direction that is perpendicularto the first direction, and the second alternate ones of the floatinggates have a reverse L-shape in cross section along the seconddirection.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the shaping includesremoving conductive floating gate material according to a pattern, theconductive floating gate material removed to a depth that is less thanthe total thickness of the floating gate material.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein floating gates are formed by depositing a layer ofpolysilicon, subsequently forming a plurality of shallow trenchisolation structures that divide the layer of polysilicon intoconductive portions, subsequently etching the conductive portionsaccording to a checkerboard pattern, and subsequently dividing theconductive portions into individual floating gates.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 further comprising forming a dielectric layer over theconductive portions and forming a control gate layer over the dielectriclayer, the control gate layer formed into a plurality of word linesaccording to a pattern, the dividing the conductive portions intoindividual floating gates also being according to the pattern.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 wherein floating gates under an individual word linealternate between a first orientation and a second orientation.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 wherein floating gates alternate between the firstorientation and the second orientation along the first direction.
 9. Amethod of forming a flash memory array, comprising: forming a firstconductive layer extending across a surface of a substrate; forming aplurality of shallow trench isolation structures extending in a firstdirection and separated in a second direction that is perpendicular tothe first direction, the plurality of shallow trench isolationstructures extending through the first conductive layer into thesubstrate thereby dividing the first conductive layer into a pluralityof first conductive portions; forming a plurality of second conductiveportions, the plurality of second conductive portions overlying theplurality of first conductive portions, an individual second conductiveportion defined in the second direction by adjacent ones of theplurality of shallow trench isolation structures; and partially etchingthe plurality of second conductive portions to form narrowed secondconductive portions, the narrowed second conductive portions beingnarrower in the second direction than the first conductive portions, anarrowed second conductive portion defined on one side by a shallowtrench isolation structure.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprisingseparating the plurality of first conductive portions and overlyingnarrowed second conductive portions into a plurality of floating gatesthat have an asymmetric shape in cross section along a plane that isperpendicular to the first direction.
 11. The method of claim 10 furthercomprising forming a dielectric layer overlying the plurality of secondconductive portions and forming a conductive control gate layeroverlying the dielectric layer, and wherein the conductive control gatelayer is separated into individual word lines in the same step thatseparates the plurality of first conductive portions and overlyingnarrowed second conductive portions into the plurality of floatinggates.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein the partial etching of theplurality of second conductive portions is in a checkerboard pattern.13. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of floating gates haveasymmetric shapes that alternate between a first orientation and asecond orientation along the first direction.
 14. The method of claim 10wherein the plurality of floating gates have asymmetric shapes thatalternate between a first orientation and a second orientation along thesecond direction.
 15. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality offloating gates have asymmetric shapes that alternate between a firstorientation and a second orientation along the first direction, andalternate between the first orientation and the second orientation alongthe second direction.